Deadspin turns on the lights, sends cockroaches scurrying everywhere

… and then proceeds to describe an apparent scam that would make a Russian-speaking hacker blush. The evidence uncovered in the piece suggests that someone named “Sarah Phillips” is in a world of legal hurt right now, with significant civil and criminal liability.

The Cliffs version:

A message board poster on sports betting odds site Covers.com meteorically rose to become a freelance writer for ESPN.com. Along the way, that individual appears to have scammed at least two unsuspecting website owners/contributors out of thousands of dollars; threatened at least one of them and hijacked the ownership of at least one website from its lawful proprietor.

“Phillips” appears to have conspired with at least one other individual to hijack internet accounts and screenshots of chat conversations indicate that she and/her co-conspirators may have extorted money from their victims.

The conspirators also appear to have fraudulently represented themselves as employees of the World Wide Leader.

The Deadspin exposé also casts ESPN.com in a rather embarrassing light—the organization appears to have hired a freelance columnist with little to no due diligence into the individual’s identity or background.